New legislation for online poker providers in New Jersey

Online poker providers who wants to operate in New Jersey ought to form a partnership with a land based casino.

US.- As per New Jersey’s gaming law, online poker providers are allowed to operate in New Jersey only after they form a partnership with a land based casino. Now, State Assemblyman Ralph Caputo proposed a new gaming bill that requires online poker providers to clearly and visibly advertise their land based casino partner in Atlantic City.

The new legislation was passed 6-0 last week by the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee and will now make it mandatory for online poker providers to mention their land based casino partner on their websites and all marketing material. Caputo, who has firmly opposed online gambling in the state, believes that this additional advertising and promotion of land based casinos in Atlantic City will help the city’s struggling casinos to bring in more business.

Caputo was not in favour of legalising online poker in New Jersey because he was convinced it would negatively affect land based casinos’ revenue. Caputo believes online poker legalisation and competition from neighbouring states like Pennsylvania has resulted in the collapse of Atlantic City’s casino industry.

“People are not going to Atlantic City because they’re betting on the Internet. So they’ve lost more patrons, more room occupancies,” said Caputo in a statement. “I think [online gambling] was really counterproductive. It was intended to help Atlantic City, and I don’t think it did. Because whatever they gained they lost on the other end.”